


To Gain a Son

by SnowflakesandMozart



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Duel on Bespin (Star Wars), Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Skywalker Family Drama (Star Wars), later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27718726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowflakesandMozart/pseuds/SnowflakesandMozart
Summary: A series of occasional oneshots in which Luke Skywalker learns who his father is. Some angst, some fluff, lots of Skywalker Drama(TM). Mostly AU but the first chapter is canon compliant.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	To Gain a Son

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot is canon-compliant with ESB (even if the ending leaves that ambiguous). It mainly amounts to a character study of Vader at Bespin.

Darth Vader lurked in the shadows, himself a deeper shadow than any mere physical light could cast. He had been a shadow for many years now—almost as many as he had served in the light. He had been ignorant then—had not comprehended the true nature of the Force or the universe. Enlightenment had come only when he followed his Master into the Dark. Though he hated his Master now for a thousand cruelties great and small, it was no matter. Hatred fed the Dark Side and the Dark Side gave him power. Power that would draw his son to his side, where he would perform the same service for young Skywalker that his Master had wrought for him. Then—together—they would overthrow the Emperor.

A circular hatch in the floor split open and his son stepped out. Vader locked the doors and raised the lights. The boy scanned the room.

After several long moments spent greedily studying his face, Vader intoned, "The Force is with you, young Skywalker—" A pause to allow the respirator to echo dramatically through the chamber. The boy spun around. "—but you are not a Jedi yet." Was it a statement of fact or a taunt? Vader himself was uncertain.

Skywalker mounted the stairs, face set like flint. Satisfaction flooded Vader. The boy was aggressive and angry. Hatred radiated from him. But he was raw. Incomplete. It would be easy to drive him to the breaking point.

Vader held his lightsaber in one hand, negligently. He would let the boy take the lead as he indulged him in a demonstration of true power.

When Skywalker ignited his lightsaber, Vader followed suit, assuming an almost careless guard position, waiting for the boy to make the next move. His son did not disappoint. Dropping his point, he circled the red blade for the disarming stroke. His bones and muscles jarred at the impact of their blades, but Vader hardly noticed the familiar agony. He knew in that moment that the boy's skills were no match for his own. No matter. He would test him to see where his weaknesses and limits lay.

The boy resumed his assault almost immediately. Good. He was impatient and could easily be lured into ever wilder attacks if Vader simply stood back and waited. He parried and pushed his son with the Force. The boy stumbled but regained his footing and pursued Vader with hardly a moment lost. His persistence sent a surge of pleasure through Vader. What he lacked in elegance, he made up for in power. Once he abandoned the Jedi limitations, he would be glorious. Unstoppable.

He surprised Vader by ducking a swing instead of parrying it. It was too late to pull back and the blow severed a pole. "You have learned much, young one." Vader admitted he was—satisfied—with the boy's performance.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." That cheekiness would have to be tamed; Vader had no intention of tolerating the sort of disrespect Obi-Wan had put up with. Now to teach the boy who was truly the master. A quick series of passes disarmed him.

As enjoyable as this sparring session was, he must not indulge himself now. Time enough for that later once the boy was secure aboard his ship. Every moment this dragged on increased his chances of escape. Vader feinted and his son ducked away, tumbling down to the main floor.

Vader pursued him with a Force-assisted leap, his landing a painful jolt to his spine accompanied by a soft clang from the metal grating. By long habit, he funneled the agony to power the Dark Side.

The boy rolled to his feet, trepidation and determination seeping into the Force in equal measure.

"Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this to be true."

Skywalker's jaw tightened. "No."

Though Vader's mouth lacked the mobility to smile, he pulled his muscles in what once would have been a smirk of accomplishment. The boy was so focused on his adversary, he had failed to notice the opening behind him. Vader advanced until he stood on the edge of the chamber. A mild shove with the Force was all that was required to knock him backwards. Casually, Vader flicked his wrist. The release of carbon vapors hissed into the room.

"All too easy." He turned back toward the chamber. Clouds of steam had already begun to drift upward. "Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought." Though it would be somewhat disappointing if that were the case, he was quite strong enough to tip the scales in Vader's favor when the inevitable confrontation finally came.

A clang drew his attention upward.

His son was scrambling among the hoses and cables toward the ceiling.

"Impressive." Vader slashed at the hose Skywalker was climbing. He just kept going. "Most impressive."

The boy climbed a little higher, flipped to the floor, and pointed the severed hose toward Vader, blinding him with vapors. The Dark Lord fell back, lightsaber gripped in both hands, able to counter Skywalker's following attack only through the guidance of the Force.

A perverse wave of pride swept over him; capturing his son would take more effort than he had anticipated. "Obi-Wan has taught you well. You have controlled your fear. Now release your anger." Luring the boy into a wild attack would unbalance him, rendering him more vulnerable to incapacitation. And if perchance Vader goaded him sufficiently to embrace his anger and hatred, the boy might Fall right here. That would be gratifying, though not, of course, essential. "Only your hatred can destroy me."

When Skywalker attacked aggressively once again, Vader withdrew to the edge of the platform. Let the boy believe he had driven his opponent there. His son took him by surprise again, kicking him in the chest and knocking him off the platform. As he righted himself in midair, Vader revised his strategy. Silently, he retreated into the labyrinth that threaded through the lower level of the carbon freezing facility. It would be the perfect trap and there would be no escape once the boy reached the control chamber.

As he had hoped, his son attempted to track him rather than fleeing. Not that he would get far with the doors secured. But it was gratifying to know he had read the boy's character so well. As reckless and vengeful as he himself had been as a young man.

He didn't even wait for Vader to approach him before igniting his lightsaber again. Now to demonstrate to the boy just how much he didn't know. Vader gestured. A large pipe tore free from the wall and hurtled toward his son. Between lightsaber passes, Vader cast yet more pieces of equipment through the air, intent on breaking Skywalker's concentration.

Until the boy dodged a large piece of debris and it went through the window.

Vader suffered his first moment of doubt. That may have been excessive. He braced himself against the gale of escaping air and was—No. He would not call it relief—He affirmed Skywalker's quick-thinking and physical strength when the boy grabbed a pipe along the wall. In spite of his ingenuity, though, the decompression sucked at both boy and pipe until he was pulled out the window over a chasm that was effectively bottomless.

No. He was not _concerned_. That was unbefitting a Sith. He simply did not want this potential ally lost prematurely. That was all. Skywalker was nothing more than a stranger at the moment. Certainly not someone to be _afraid_ for. Nevertheless, Vader approached the window with something that an impartial observer might have termed trepidation. He caught a glimpse of Lu—no, _Skywalker_ clinging to a catwalk. As the boy pulled himself up onto the bridge with quivering arms, Vader brushed aside the tremble in his own muscles. He must be fatigued. It had been a long time since he had battled another Force user as—vigorously. Yes, that was the word.

The time had come. That had been a close call. He must bring an end to this or the boy would be seriously damaged. Clearly, the Force had taken a hand to prevent an—undesirable outcome. Just as obviously, it was the boy's destiny to stand at his side.

His faith in his vision of the future strengthened, Vader made his way swiftly to the catwalk. Skywalker was well and truly trapped now.

Like a juggernaut, Vader came at him aggressively, blow after blow hammering against the blue blade, giving the boy no respite. He fell back, his strength buckling under Vader's more powerful limbs and greater experience. Yet he doggedly continued fighting, refusing to surrender. That spirit would be a great asset. But Vader was growing desperate. He _must_ end this before something untoward happened. He drew more deeply on the Dark Side. He would prove that he deserved the boy's loyalty. That he was worthy to train him.

He overpowered Skywalker and knocked him onto his back. Tip of his blade menacing his son's chest—though not close enough to do any damage accidentally—Vader layered as much persuasion and power into his voice as he could. "You are beaten. It is useless to resist." Skywalker slid away, quivering, eyes riveted to the scarlet blade. "Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did."

The words did not have the intended effect. The boy brought his lightsaber back up in a clumsy parry. He scrambled to his feet and pounded desperately against Vader's blade.

Very well. Vader would pull his strikes no more. If the boy would not admit defeat, even when Vader had plainly proved his mastery, whatever happened would be on the boy's own head. Vader returned every stroke with his own even more powerful blows.

No. He wrenched his blade away, slicing the rail in two with one violent swipe. He was getting carried away. He reined in his anger.

Before he had fully gathered himself, a sharp, burning pain shot through what remained of his right arm. Rage roared through him. He retaliated with the most powerful stroke yet. It didn't land. A set of pipes tumbled off into the chasm. Without pause, he swept the blade back.

How dare this stripling challenge him! He was the Dark Lord of the Sith. No one could stand before him.

The disarm failed as the upstart kept his grip on his hilt. There was nothing for it; this must end. Vader swept his blade upward in a final stroke, and the boy howled in agony.

Vader's whole being hummed with dark satisfaction. Victory was his. "There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you."

Cowed at last, the boy crept backward, sword arm pressed close to his body. Dark Side rushing through him with triumph, Vader could afford to be generous. He did not wish to kill his son, after all, and once the boy knew what Vader was offering, they need no longer be opponents.

"Luke—" There was pleasure in speaking his son's name at last— "you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."

The boy had reached the weather vane. He clung to it, shaking. "I'll never join you." Right arm tucked against his side, he worked his way down onto the coils that wrapped around the outside of the vane.

And still he failed to understand what Vader was offering. "If you only knew the power of the Dark Side." Vader had not pleaded with another being since—He cut off the thought. "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."

A snarl twisted Luke's face. "He told me enough. He told me you killed him."

Cold rage twisted in what was left of Vader's gut. No wonder his son had been so set on destroying him. A moment later satisfaction chased the heels of his rage. Obi-Wan could hardly have handed him a better tool if he had planned it. It wouldn't be necessary to open Luke's eyes to the weaknesses of the Jedi ways; he had only to expose Obi-Wan's perfidy.

"No." The word thundered, and Vader could almost thank his master for the unwitting gift of that powerful resonance. "I am your father."

"No." Luke shook his head, jaw tight, eyes wide, pupils blown. "No. That's not true. That's impossible!"

Now Vader was pleading. Insistent. Anxious. "Search your feelings. You know it to be true."

"No!" Even through the electronic distortion of the mask's audio receptors, the cry was agonized.

"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny." He must make Luke understand—he must submit to his fate—must stand by his father's side—must choose his father, as no one else ever had. And Vader would give him everything he had ever dreamed of. "Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." Vader stretched out his hand.

Luke looked down into the bottomless drop and back up with despair in his eyes. Vader would have sighed with relief had he been able. It had worked. There were no options left.

Vader stretched toward him. At last he would possess his son. The boy need only put his hand in his father's and all would be well. "Come with me. It is the only way."

Luke looked down again—the last gasp of a trapped man before he surrendered to his fate. Vader braced himself against the agony to come as he prepared to accept his son's weight. The possession of his child would more than compensate for the pain.

Luke met his father's eyes and released his grip. In what appeared to Vader to be slow motion, he dropped backward into the void, making no attempt to control his fall. Vader's heart plummeted beside his son.

He could have caught him, of course. Could have wrenched him back to the gantry and taken him captive. But what was the use? If he would not choose his father willingly—if he preferred death to family ties—

He had been so certain. So sure that all the boy needed was to see the power of the Dark Side in action. To know Vader's true identity. To catch one glimpse of his destiny.

But like his mother, the boy had refused him. Had plunged to certain death rather than accept his father's outstretched hand. And all because of Obi-Wan's lies.

Vader's anger burned hot and fierce, before the impotent thing shriveled into ashes.

He turned away from the chasm where all his hopes had been dashed. His breath burned in its perpetual cycle. In. Out. In. Out. His heart beat at its accustomed, regulated rate. There was nothing to betray the devastation clinging to him more closely than his cape.

All that remained was to return to his duties.

To report to his Master that his son—

that _Skywalker_ —

was dead.


End file.
